


One

by Thesseli



Series: The "One" Series [1]
Category: The Matrix (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post Matrix: Revolutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2507624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesseli/pseuds/Thesseli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It appears that One really can survive without the other...but appearances can be deceiving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One

The fight was over. The war was over.

He'd gone to the Machine city, then back into the Matrix to confront the virus, and he'd bargained with the mainframe for a truce between Man and Machine. Perhaps this had been the real purpose of the One all along. But he hadn't survived the battle. He hadn't expected to. If one half of the equation was eliminated, the other half would be as well. Both would survive, or neither.

He felt his other half pass by him peacefully, his role fulfilled. He felt his body lifted by the Machines, then borne back to a ship that would take him to Zion. Piloted by remote control from the mainframe itself, it sent word ahead of what had occurred, and that the war was finally over.

He arrived in Zion to a cheering crowd, and a cluster of people he thought he recognized as his friends. He was still disoriented and unable to walk, and he allowed himself to be helped to the infirmary.

Both, or neither. Even in his current state, he knew that. Half could not survive on its own.

"It said you've bridged the gap between us and them, Neo," said Morpheus warmly. "You truly are the One."

"One?" he asked weakly, closing his eyes behind the protective dark glasses as more memories returned. "We...we were fighting..."

"The mainframe told us what happened - you fought Smith, and you beat him. He's gone. That's why the war is over. You saved all of us, Neo, all of us. Machines and humans both."

"But...one can't survive without the other," he murmured. He didn't understand how he could still be here when his opposite/complement/other half wasn't here as well. 

"Neo, listen to me. You're going to be fine. The Machines saw to that. They were so grateful that they even saved your vision." He smiled. "They couldn't quite give you back what you had before, but..."

No. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong. He stared up at the others in confusion, then removed the glasses, wincing at the bright light. "Mirror. I need to see a mirror. Please."

A young girl hurried over with a smudged, cracked piece of shiny metal. His hands were trembling as he took it from her.

"Neo, it's all right," Morpheus said, trying to reassure him over his slightly altered features. "They sent you back to us. They said you would bring us together, that it was your new purpose. They want you to help them understand humanity."

He stared numbly at his reflection, not fully comprehending what had been done to him. "Humanity?" he whispered.

"Yes," the older man replied. "Neo, you need to sleep now. That fight with Smith took a lot out of you; for a while, even the mainframe didn't think you would make it."

He stared for a few more seconds, then passed the mirror back to one of the people standing over him. "I didn't," he said softly.

"Of course you did. But you're exhausted, you need to sleep now. I'm sure things will make a lot more sense after you've rested." Morpheus smiled again at the sleepy fluttering of the new, blue eyes, and gave the other man a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Get some rest. You'll feel better in the morning."

There was no response. Because - unused to the new sensations and needs of this body, this new human body - the former Agent Smith had already fallen asleep.


End file.
